Sir Thomas Gascoigne, 8th Baronet

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Sir Thomas Gascoigne, 8th Baronet (1745–1810) was a Yorkshire landowner, politician and early industrial thinker who helped shape farming and mining in his era.

Early life
- Born on March 7, 1745, in Cambrai on the European continent, Thomas came from a devout Catholic Yorkshire family. He was educated in Catholic schools in France and Italy and remained Catholic for much of his life.
- He became the 8th baronet after his older brother died in Paris in 1762.

Grand Tour and a turning point
- Thomas travelled extensively in Europe as part of a Grand Tour, often with the writer Henry Swinburne. They visited Spain, France and Italy and met many rulers and nobles.
- In 1765, during a trip to Rome, he and a friend were involved in the murder of a coachman. The affair led to their escape with help from Rome’s authorities and even a papal pardon. After this, Gascoigne returned to England.

Estate life and innovations
- Back in England, he focused on managing his Parlington estate and county affairs. He became interested in agriculture and mining.
- He helped develop his lands by expanding coal mining and limestone quarries and by building a small spa at Boston Spa.
- Gascoigne experimented with farming, including using cabbages and carrots as fodder for livestock, which earned praise from agricultural reformers.
- He supported horse racing, with some of his horses winning major races, and he kept up a strong interest in mining technology.

Politics
- To sit in Parliament, Gascoigne publicly renounced Catholicism in 1780, a move likely driven by legal requirements rather than religious belief.
- He served as a Foxite Whig MP, representing Thirsk from 1780 to 1784 and later Arundel from 1795 to 1796.
- Gascoigne supported reform efforts and worked with reformers like Christopher Wyvill, though his influence declined in later years.
- He also marked his political views with a commemorative arch at Parlington Hall celebrating American independence.

Family life
- On November 4, 1784, he married Lady Mary Turner (the widow of Sir Charles Turner). Mary died in 1786 after childbirth, leaving a son, Thomas Charles Gascoigne.
- Gascoigne never remarried. A popular but untrue story suggested a different marriage to a Miss Montgomery.

Later years and legacy
- He continued to develop his estate, especially its coal mines and iron works, and adopted new technology to improve efficiency, such as iron tramways and steam engines in the mines.
- Sir Thomas Gascoigne died on February 11, 1810, at Parlington Hall and was buried at All Saints’ Church, Barwick-in-Elmet.
- His only son had died earlier in a hunting accident, so the estate passed to Richard Oliver of Castle Oliver in Ireland, with the condition that he change his name to Oliver Gascoigne.

Sir Thomas Gascoigne’s life shows a blend of aristocratic duty, travel-experienced Enlightenment thinking, and early industrial progress that helped shape farming, mining and politics in his era.